The day of the Assassin
by MONMUSUfan
Summary: When an honest and efficient detective and his undercover partner Doppel busts a Liminal-human drug gang, consequences are bound to heap on them. But when three mysterious Liminal girls pop up around the Detective things become murky one of these regal and beautiful girls is an assassin, and he has no idea about anything. The charm of huntress or His wits, the winner takes all.
1. Chapter 1

Robert Hayek was quite in the mood,he had ample reasons to be. This was the closure of a very high profile case that almost singlehandedly had brought down a notorious gang of drug dealers. After the enforcement of Exchange law everything on the world wasn't sugary and spicy. In fact some liminal criminals colluded with their human counterparts and formed formidable criminal gangs throughout the length and breadth of this peaceful country. So the laws forbidding physical contact between Liminals and Humans were revoked and Liminals got included in the umbrella term sentient-demihumans. Thus there was no practical differentiation between the man and the mon-kind and Law enforcement agencies were given the right to recruit suitable Liminal candidates.

Though Robert was in no mood to hog the spotlight all by himself, if it wasn't his shape-shifting partner Doppel then he couldn't have gotten this big piece of information. Doppel quite easily infiltrated into that "Organization" and got all the necessary infos to bust their asses. She periodically sent all the data to her human partner. But sharing the credit with Doppel would have been a technical Harakiri as that would have had compromised Doppel's cover. The mission was so important that only the chief director and Robert knew about this. That's why Robert felt a bit pity for his hardworking partner.

No sooner had Robert entered the office premises than his phone beeped. "Ah...it's from her, maybe a new piece of information, it's true when they say that Wicked doesn't rest." Robert swiped through the touch screen and opened his inbox.

The information startled him, "They got you, they're sending an assassin for you. It's a she and blind in right eye. Nothing more I know about her. I'll inform if I get something more on her."

Robert gulped, it was trouble in the worst possible form. It's a nightmare scenario, but Robert wasn't any pansy ass agent, he had something in his character which made him quite fearless. "Hmm..guess I've to be doubly sure about my surroundings."

A surprise was waiting for Robert in his office, his superior Kuroko Smith called for him. When he entered Ms. Smith's chamber he saw a stoutly (Muscular and gifted in certain areas) built Jinko sitting in front of his boss.

"Morning, Robert." Smith welcomed him.

Robert saluted Smith and returned the greeting.

"You know Robert, I've been promoted and transferred. This is my last day in this office, by the way meet Hannah Karnina, she will be your new boss." Smith introduced him to the Jinko. Seeing the Jinko's face a cold chill ran through the spine of Robert, she lacked the natural charm of her species. Her hard and determined face was made a bit scarier by the injury of her right eye. It was so deep that the spectacles failed to cover it up, though the right lens was quite opaque.

"Not a pretty face to look at, I know my limitations." the Jinko replied with a smile. Robert overcame the initial shock and saluted her and apologised for any unwarranted mistakes on his part.

"Such a gentle young man. You were lucky, Smith. By the way no need to be so formal with me." Hannah replied with a little smile.

"Robert, how about you give Hannah a tour?" Smith pleaded with puppy eyes.

Robert mentally rofled and outwardly replied, "At once, Ma'm"

Hannah was an enthusiastic observer. She showed great interest in the chemical lab and ballistics experiment lab. She looked very pleased with the staff and the facilities. Her kind and generous nature made her an instant hit with the staff, despite her rough looks.

Robert was guiding Hannah towards the office as the tour had already come to an end, suddenly a remark from Hannah astonished Robert, "Hey Robert, I didn't see your partner, Doppel. Is she on a leve?"

"Yes, she is. Some family trouble popped up in her homeland and she had to take three moths leave, probably it might take a bit longer than that." Robert managed to keep a poker face while giving the answer, any hint about Doppel's whereabouts is a big no-no.

"I see." she replied.

But something was in her voice which suggested that she didn't believe in the veracity of his statement.

The rest of the day was more or less uneventful but one incident stood out. It was Smith's farewell party and the whole department plus Hannah were busy celebrating it.A drunken Smith grabbed Robert's shoulder and murmured something in his ear, her hot breath on his ear lobes was a bit turn-onish thing but her statement marred the moment.

"Robert, stay away from Hannah. That woman is nothing but trouble, her last partner was killed on action and she was in coma for One year due to an injury in the same mission." Smith was going to blurt out more but a very obstinate and drunk co-worker dragged her away.

Suddenly Robert felt an ominous pressure as if someone was crushing his very essence, his peripheral vision helped him to see that, Hannah was glaring at him. The reflection on her right spectacle lens and the intense glare on her left eye paralleled an arch demon.

The party was over around Eight, Hannah took the responsibility on her shoulder to escort Smith to her home. Robert had suggested to accompany the ladies, but both vehemently turned him down. Robert eventually relented and after concluding the parting greetings Robert was on his way back.

A thought quickly ran through his mind, "What if, is this Hannah is the assassin? The way in which she was glaring me during the party and the way she had been asking about Doppel makes her very suspicious."

Robert's flat was located on the fourth floor, so it was quite natural for him to take a pause before ascending stairs. Robert hated elevators, he always championed a healthier lifestyle and ascending staircases was a good treadmill exercise for him.

Upon reaching on the fourth floor Robert was going towards his flat. His flat was the farthest from the stairs, but something in the path caught his attention. Flat no-402 was unlocked. The previous owner moved elsewhere and since last two months the entrance had been padlocked. "Hmm...a new guy has moved in, huh good for him."

Suddenly something collided with Robert and the next thing was him bumping his head on the floor. A worried face greeted him when he opened his eyes, his head was almost dizzy due to the sudden impact. A lithe Hellhound was bending on his body and he was lying on his back, he felt soft fur on his cheeks.

"Are you ok Mister? I'm really sorry, I tripped over the doorsill and crashed right into you." Robert waved his hand to indicate his well being.

The lithe and alluring hellhound breathed a sigh of relief. She picked up her spectacles, which was thrown onto the floor due to that impact. A sudden thing caught Robert's eye. Her right eye showed no movement and was prosthetic. Being a Detective of special branch Robert was well versed in his trade and he could have bet the last penny of his purse on the fact that "Her right eye was prosthetic."

"Are you sure that you're ok?" the seemingly concerned Hellhound jerked him a little. Robert got up and thanked her for her concern.

"I'm Rebeka Watts, I'm teacher in the newly opened "Hope's peak Elementary." Nice to meet you." the Hellhound shook Robert's hand.

"I'm Robert Jonson, I work in the share market. Nice to meet you." In the apartment nobody knew about his profession, staying invisible in the public domain was a necessary and sufficient requirement.

After bading each other Good Night the duo departed. Rebeka went downwards while Robert entered his flat, suddenly something sparked in his mind. Each and every flat on the fourth floor had the exactly same layout and there was no doorsill in his flat.

"Shit she lied and she had a prosthetic eye, is she the assassin? But would an assassin like her show me her identification mark, wait a second she might even not know that I've a source planted in the organization? No-no I've to investigate her too, then again the chief also looks suspicious." Robert felt that his headache is coming back, suddenly his phone beeped again, it was Doppel, "Sry, no info on her though she's an extraspecies and a very dangerous one."

Robert locked the main door and flung himself on the bed, he was done for the day.

Robert woke up with a refreshed mind. The tensions of the previous night were purged from his mind. He started the day with a positive vibe, answering his natural calls, then getting a refreshing bath and a exhilarating shave to kick-off his day. He gobbled up his oat-meal and boiled egg whites. Then he finished the glass of skimmed milk. A taking a belch of satisfaction he went brushed his teeth and got dressed for office. He couldn't help but chuckle about his thoughts of the previous day.

The Office was rhythmically boring and no new updates came from Doppel. Chief Hannah asked him to brief her on some ongoing cases which he did with elegance. The lunch-break gave offered him a good opportunity to get his fill from the newly opened Sea-food restaurant.

Upon entering the place a bunny-girl welcomed him and ushered him to a table and took his orders promptly. Robert was little astonished about the gathered crowd in the eatery. The place was nicely built with sofa cushions replacing chairs and tables were circular instead of squarish.

He had ordered Fish and Chips. Robert enjoyed this dish more than anything. He saw a Mantis girl bringing in his orders, suddenly a rustic and uncouth man pinched the waitresses butt cheek. The waitress ignored him and delivered the order to his(Robert) table, on her way while returning she promptly grabbed the collar of the indecent man and with a single arm throw threw him right through the open door to the pavement. The man looked angry but after assessing his situation he retreated and ran away.

The waitress looked directly into Robert's eyes, he could see that her right eye was under an eye patch; in a steely cold voice she replied "As you sow, so you reap. By the way I'm Karen Warthington, have a nice day sir and no butt-pinching." She bowed to him.

It was Deja-vu all over again.


	2. Chapter 2

Robert was again back to square one. Three days had already passed and he had no idea about this assassin. He was seemingly astonished by the sudden appearances about one eyed Monmusus around him. But the thing which was bugging him had been the fact that one of them had to be a potential assassin. The headache was creeping back and the detective felt quite uneasy, suddenly one of his subordinates, Elma a human woman switched on the TV.

"Sir, we are getting news about a hostage situation in Hope's Peak Elementary School, though the Mon-Swat team is already on it." Elma informed him.

The name Hope's Peak perked his interest, "Isn't it the school, that the Hellhound mentioned?" His mind was totally glued onto the screen.

"Today around 10 in the morning a mysterious man was sighted around Hope's Peak academy. He had an AK-47 with him, he injured the guard to get into the premises and was going to start a random shooting. But an elementary teacher Rebeka Watts stopped him. This martial art enthusiast singlehandedly took the man by surprise and before he could unleash his deranged savagery he was put into his place by this valiant and courageous woman." the news reader announced with the photo of Rebeka in the background.

"She isn't a klutz, she had already lied about the doorsill and now this. I seriously need to investigate this woman, she fits the profile quite beautifully." Richard was immersed in thought so he failed to realize that his boss was standing just behind him with her eye glued to the screen. A small curling smile graced her lips.

Richard was taken out of his trance like state by a heavy paw on his shoulder. He was almost startled to see his boss standing next to him, "Is anything worrying you? You seem to be looking a bit tensed." Hannah seemed to be worried.

"Nothing major, Ma'm. To even think that a primary school teacher would be a martial art enthusiast, would have been hilarious but not today." Robert replied.

"By the way Ma'm, today I've some personal chores to attend, so I would be leaving a bit earlier than usual. Would that be okay?" Robert asked as politely as he could. He already had set up a meeting with the Chief of the Bureau about the recent development and the chief had asked him to report at a inconspicuous place so that nobody can get a hold of their conversation.

"No issues, it's fine by me." the Jinko was now busy with her specially built smart phone. She didn't even look up to him.

Robert had something in his mind, he went directly towards the departmental library, he had something to check up. Though he never saw that Hannah was scrolling through an Internet article, about the recent stand-off in the Hope Peaks's Elementary.

In the Seafood cafe Karen was reading an old newspaper report , the rush was over and it gave her a bit free time to pursue this piece of the news. She smirked and commented, "This one is a skiddy customer."

It was almost Five in the evening and Robert came out of the office, he knew the location of the private bungalow, where the supposed meeting was to be help so he didn't waste any time. Boarding the tube and then taking the bus to reach the destination.

He was warmly welcomed and ushered in by the Bureau Chief Ronald Groth. The Chief stated, "Well, congratulations on busting the drug wing. You and Doppel did some phenomenal work over there, but still agent Robert you should be a little careful in your outings and all. Doppel had already informed me about the assassin who was being sent for you. By the way do you need some protection?"

"Thank You, sir. I'm taking all the necessary precautions. I'm more inclined to catch this assassin red handed. She probably doesn't know anything that we already have everything regarding her." Robert replied.

"By the way sir, Ms. Smith got promoted and transferred." Robert informed the Bureau chief, he somehow wanted to mention his new boss in a round about way.

"Hmm...well it was expected. That prolific slacker was sent to the correspondence department. You new boss is really a hard worker and very contrasting compared to Smith." the Chief beamed a smile.

"Well, she appears to be a very mild mannered and soft spoken person despite her appearance." Robert filled in.

"Yes she's like that from the beginning. She must have taken a tour of the facilities, socialised with the personnel and complimented them on their hard work. That sort of a person, she is." The Chief explained.

"Richard, You're an asset the department, probably it won't be wise for you to become the bait all by yourself. You should be a bit more cautious." The Chief sounded a bit serious.

"Sir, I've already taken the necessary precautions. I'm walking around in a bulletproof vest. I've my own car with bulletproof glass,Sir." Richard replied enthusiastically.

"Are You sure that the Organization doesn't know about you?" The Chief asked sombrely.

"Yes Sir. My name never popped up in any of the cases. All they could find about me was that a disruptive officer is screwing up all their deals. The criminals whom I've apprehended are being kept in a Stoker's Island and I generally am invisible to the media and public alike. So I guess they're yet to find me." Robert explained his reasoning.

"Fine, it looks like that you've already taken necessary steps to stay in the dark. That's why I call you the Asset." the Chief patted his shoulder.

"So what would you like to have? Gin? Sherry? Vodka? Vermouth?" the Chief asked his subordinate.

"Gin, please." Robert replied.

The following day was a Saturday, so Robert took it easy. He stopped on his way to do some grocery shopping. The store was full with the Friday Night rush. People were busy buying their weekend supplies, Robert was buying Eggs and a pack of Oats.

Suddenly he heard a very sweet greeting, "Hi, Good Evening Rob. Buying supplies?" his neighbour Rebeka Watts was standing beside him.

Robert's returned the greeting and congratulated her on the the showcasing of her valour, a tinge of pink adored her cheeks. "I just wanted to protect my students. How can I let some mad jerk scar them for their lives?"

"That's so great of you. Nowadays we don't see chivalrous people like you." Robert's complimented her.

Robert's could see that she was mentally blushing. Her knees were sticking together and she lowered her gaze. This Jeans and tops wearing Hellhound suddenly became very cute in Robert's eye.

"Can I ask you a favour, Rob?" the Hellhound looked a bit apologetic.

"Of course." he replied.

"As you work in Stock market, so weekends are must be off for you. So can you please accompany me with the students to the Science museum? My colleague got a nervous breakdown due to this ordeal." Rebeka looked with pleading eyes.

"No problem. I'm free on Sunday, just tell me the time and place." Robert was mentally very excited due this sudden proposal, _"Now I can investigate her to my heart's content. She's more than she lets slip. A martial artist taking on a gunman is no pushover. I needed this."_

"So let's meet a 9 in the morning in my apartment. I've already asked the kids to assemble there by 8.45." Rebeka replied.

 **(In Hannah's Flat)**

"Oh, I see. So you're the cop who answered her call." Hannah replied on the phone.

...

"I see, I also saw the news. She is a courageous mutt."

...

"Oh, I see. for her and the students. I guess that you've already put someone to watch over her and the kids."

...

"Absolutely, one of the psycho gunslinger's friends might show up, so that was really thoughtful of you, besides the Science Museum in a Sunday Morning sounds as a very crowded place."

...

"How can I forget that, the way you helped me when I was just another breathing corpse?"

...

"I'll, I'm a bit tied down due to work and You know I just got transferred so I do have some packing and moving to deal with. How about next Saturday?"

...

"Ah, fine. We'll be meeting in the "SEA-Queen" restaurant, I've heard that their Fish Cutlets are top class."

...

"Of course, we're genetically half-Cats, Meow-meow."

...

"Thanks girl. It really feels great to catch up with an old chum like you. Good Night."

...

Hannah put down her phone. _"Martial Artist primary teacher, super sensei Rebeka Watts. Taking kids to outdoors, that mutt was never like this. Maybe I should keep an eye on her."_

 **(Sunday Morning)**

Robert was getting dressed. He didn't want to slip up any opportunity to observe this strange person, Rebeka Watts. He thought that not being punctual might arouse her suspicion.

At 9 sharp, Robert knocked on Rebeka's front door. A little kid opened up the door, "Who are you Mister?" the little boy asked.

"Just call Miss. Rebeka, tell her Rob has arrived." Robert sweetly informed the kid. The kid rushed into the flat and with a few seconds Rebeka came out with six kids all around age 7-8. Four of them were human boys and the female twin were Wererabbits.

"Thanks Rob, You're such a punctual person." Rebeka welcomed him, her cheeks again sported a dusting of pink. Rebeka looked gorgeous in her casual attire.

Suddenly Robert felt a little tug on his right cuff, he looked at the inquisitive bunny girl. "Mister Rob, are you Miss. Rebeka's boyfriend?"

A smile graced his lips, he ruffled her hair and said, "That's for her to decide, Sweety."

Rebeka looked a bit flustered,"Stop it Aliana, don't bother Mr. Rob."

The girl named Aliana relented and soon the whole group was on their way to the Science Museum.

"Kids, look at this. This is a model water turbine. Look how it's generating electricity." Rob pointed the kids to the model Water Turbine Generator. Kids took out their phones and started to snap pictures of the said turbine.

"I guess your class is a small one, I thought that it would be bigger." Robert halfheartedly inquired.

"No, my class has a strength of 25, but these little things are the advanced lot, so according to the School policy I'm bound to take them to places where they can learn more about the World." Rebeka replied.

"Hmm...I see..." suddenly Robert was interrupted by a young Cyclops girl in Cop uniform. She flashed her badge and stated, "I'm Constable Maria Ray. I'm being sent by Officer Mc'Grath for the guard duty, Ma'm Rabeka."

"Oh..my. Thank you. Officer Mc'Grath is so considerate, give her my regards. It's always good to have backup, especially after that day." Rebeka replied.

"Happy to help. By the the way, who are you? I didn't see you didn't see you in the school on that day." the Cyclops girl asked Robert with her eye glued on him.

"He's just helping me out, he's sort of a friend and neighbour." Rebeka replied instead of Robert.

"Hi, I'm Robert Jonson, the friendly neighbourhood Stock Broker." Robert waved at Maria.

* * *

 **Character summary**

 **Hannah Karnina : A Jinko(Tiger like Demihuman, for ref. visit Monster Girl Wikipedia)**

 **Height :6'-1", Bust: D cup**

 **Rebeka Watts : A Hellhound(Hound like beastman/demihuman,** **for ref. visit Monster Girl Wikipedia)**

 **Height : 5'-10", Bust: D cup**

 **Karen Warthington : A Mantis(Insect tye demihuman,** **for ref. visit Monster Girl Wikipedia)**

 **Height : 5'-8" , Bust: C cup**


	3. Chapter 3

A sharp verbal spat attracted the group's attention. A small breed Arachne girl was having a heated argument with a man.

"Sir, I can't let this slide. Not only you insulted me by calling me loli but also my whole species. We're petite or Small Breed Arachne." The girl was quite furious.

"Whatever, all you eight legged freaks are nothing but bundles of issues. Why you can't be more like docile Bunnies or you know Kobolds?" the Man was smirking shamelessly.

Pretty soon a small crowd gathered around the two and people started passing random comments to excite the du instead of resolving the issue.

Rebeka and Robert couldn't ignore it anymore, Rebeka grabbed the man's collar and gave him a death glare, the man was frightened beyond doubt and almost shat his pants.

The man was thrown away by her, then she and Robert went in to console the sobbing Arachne.

"Ah, it's ok. It's alright, now, he won't be bothering you, anymore." Rebeka patted the head of the little arachne. Suddenly a high itch cry from one of her students attracted her attention. The Man pulled out a Box-cutter knife and has taken Alaina hostage.

"You dumb jerks, You thought You could beat me up with no consequences, huh now get naked you damn sexy bitch I wanna see your panties." The man threatened Rebeka and signed her to strip.

Robert was feeling like pulling out his personal gun and empty the whole magazine into this jerk, but then it would be a stupid move and it'll both blow his cover and endanger Alaina.

But Rebeka was in no mood to relent, she inched towards the man. The Man started hurling abuses to her but she kept on moving. Robert could only see Rebeka's back but he was sure that she's saying something to that man. Suddenly the complexion of the Man changed, it looked as if the blood from his face is drained . He looked utterly terrified, suddenly an Orange Blur went past the Hellhound, with a swift move Chief Hannah, took away Alaina from the culprit's arm and kicked the man in his groin. The man buckled down in pain and soon was arrested and handcuffed by Maria.

Hannah directly looked Rebeka in the eye, "Thank you, Ms. Rebeka. If it wasn't your distraction then I wouldn't have saved the poor girl so easily."

Rebeka replied calmly, "She's my student. How can I let anyone play with her life? Look due to this ordeal the poor girl even lost her consciousness."

Hannah strode towards Robert and handed him, Alaina.  
"You know Ms. Rebeka, had I kept him under my **one-eye,** the thing would never have occurred in the first place." To any bystander it might seem that Hannah was lamenting but Robert knew it was something more than that, the emphasis on the word **one** seemed anything but normal.

"You know, I can go to great lengths to protect the ones I love. Your o **ne-eye** doesn't make any difference to that." Rebeka replied.

"True enough, I know that. But what are those magical words that you have used? The Culprit looked utterly terrified of you, maybe it was good that the girl wasn't awake at that time." Hannah replied.

"Still, why did you wait till I made the first move? You could have acted earlier or at least give me a sign before rushing in? What if the man had cut Alaina?" Rebeka retorted.

Robert didn't feel like interfering , infact this verbal battle was an eye opener for him, _"Both of them are equally caustic .It's like that I won't be able to zero in on anyone."_

Ultimately the culprit was taken away to the nearest Police station, Hannah also left the premises. She didn't even bother to acknowledge the presence of Robert.

Another anomaly Robert did spot in Rebeka's behaviour, when Hannah was getting out Rebeka was glaring at her while clutching something which was in her jeans' pocket.

The whole episode left him awestruck, he almost forgot about the unconscious bunny girl in his lap. Rebeka almost snatched the girl from him and tried various methods to wake him up. Ultimately the girl woke, the face revealed that she was very scared. The reassuring hug from the Hellhound calmed the girl. Robert saw a little teardrop forming on the right eye of Rebeka.

 _"What the hell did she say to that man? He was as scared as a leaf. I'm pretty sure that by now the Chief Hannah is already interrogating that man about the conversation."_ Robert felt bemused.

 **(In the Local P.S)**

"Ma'm, you just can't barge in like that. It's a police station." The male policeman tried to stop the intruding Jinko with all his might.

Hannah simply flashed her badge and moved him out of her way. She directly went towards the desk of the Officer in charge.

"Oh, Chief Hannah from the Investigation Bureau, How can I help you?" the Officer in charge asked her.

"The miscreant whom You have apprehended in the Science Museum, I want to ask him something. Is that ok?" Hannah asked the man.

"No issues, that's ok with me. Just don't rough him up." The man obliged to her request.

The miscreant was brought in, he looked quite devastated. After seeing Hannah he started trembling in fear.

"I won't hurt you if you answer my questions truthfully." The Jinko asked him authoritatively.

"Ok….." he somehow blurted.

Hannah looked towards the Officer in charge, he got her point. "It's ok, you can interrogate him as much as you like. I will be in the outer chamber then." The Officer left after replying.

The man was sweating profusely and Hannah could almost hear the gritting of his teeth.

"So, what did the Hellhound say to you?" Hannah asked him.

"She… was like a d….demon. She…w.. was urging me to s…stab the kid, then she even said that she would do…do it herself if I had to…..told her to do so." The man was again trembling in fear.

"Officer, I'm done" Hannah called the Officer who promptly came in afterwards. Hannah thanked him for the cooperation and went out of the police station.

"Using Reverse psychology in that sort of a delicate situation, it's so like her." She muttered to herself.

 **(Robert's tale)**

It was noon and the group soon felt that it was the time to have lunch. The two adults along with six kids went into the nearest fast-food joint. The group ordered low fat lunch meals.

Robert couldn't enjoy the delicate chicken Kebab because his mind was still processing the events of the morning.

 _"Looks like, Ms. Hannah and Rebeka know each other very well. Still why they were at each other's throats? It doesn't add up. Why the hell chief Hannah was so emphasising on_ _ **One-Eye**_ _and Rebeka was painting her as an irresponsible person. Truth to be told it was their combined effort which averted the danger. But they behaved like two little school-girls who were quarrelling over their seating arrangements. They are so matured persons yet behaving childishly. Maybe the resentment is so caustic that they don't bother about themselves behaving like kids. Another point, what did Rebeka say to the man that caused him to shake like a leaf? Why the chief was here in the first place?"_

"Rob? Rob are you listening?" Rebeka's call dragged him out of his thought.

"Oh..I'm sorry. I just zoned out." Robert replied apologetically.

"No issues. I guess enough has happened on this trip and the kids are tired too. Maybe we can wrap it up with the visit to the Planetarium." The teacher suggested.

"Yes, that would be good for the little ones, hey guys what do say?" Robert asked the kids.

They replied in unison, "Yes, if you treat us with Ice-creams."

Both ,Robert and Rebeka bursted into laughter.

 **(The Same Evening)**

Robert's mobile beeped again. It was again a message from Doppel, "Urgent, need to meet U, Tmrw Oxford 46/17;100/03, spread angle."

Robert knew that Doppel is texting while she's on her job, that's why the codes are used. He knew he just needed to look up Oxford English to English dictionary the numbers are just pagenumbers and serial number of the word in and spread angle is just 6 p.m. in the evening.

After consulting Oxford dictionary, Robert figured out it was Amity Bay Bar. Robert looked through the cupboard to get some clothing and make-up for the disguise. He'll have to take them with him to the office and then after getting out he would need to use a public toilet to apply disguise himself and then meet Dopel. That would be best for their mutual interest.  
Robert went towards the Kitchen to make something for the dinner.

"Shoot, I've forgotten to buy Oil. Damn...now I've to eat out again. Shit that Mantis would be there, but compared to Miss. Hannah and Rebeka she seems very tame." Robert grumbled in frustration, "But it's okay if I crash to the usual place. That's the only restaurant where the kitchen can be directly seen from the lobby. So I'm very safe if I eat out from there." Robert assured himself.

 **(With Karen)**

Karen was deeply immersed in thought, she didn't even notice that a customer had entered and taken a seat.

"Hey, Miss Waitress, can you take my order?" the woman asked her.

The woman was a beautiful elf wearing a business suit and spectacles. Karen thought that she(the Elf) was a beauty.

"Ma'm what would you like to order?" Karen asked the Elf.

"Anything good. Do you have any suggestion for me?" the Elf asked for Karen's opinion.

"Ma'm, our Grilled Bassa with Coriander sauce and Fried rice is often treated as the best." she replied.

"Ok, I'll take one." the Elf replied. Suddenly a flash of Lightening was seen and within a moment a deafening thunder strike was heard. "Damn, I should have taken Umbrella." the Elf muttered.

Robert rushed in with his umbrella and hurriedly took his seat. (from where he can see the whole kitchen)

"Such a nasty weather, it's really deplorable. Hey, Karen please take my order." Robert signalled Karen to take his order.

Karen came at once and took his order, by this time Three Men rushed into the cafe. They all looked to be Professionals, everyone had his laptop bag on him.

"Oh, that wretched Mr. Mattias, just keeps pushing work on us. Even when we're eating we've to work on the code." one man groaned.

"You're right, Jonas. I'll order up. You just start my damn laptop." the more matured man gestured Karen with his hand.

Karen took the order and promptly went into the kitchen. After coming out she handed the man a surge protector. The man named Jonas promptly plugged in the Laptop and switched on the surge protector. Instantly a a wizzing sound was heard and the whole cafe plunged into darkness.

"It must have tripped, don't worry I'll get my cell, it has in-built torch. " Karen announced to tone down the panic of the customers and lightened up her torch and strode towards the mains. Suddenly a male voice cried "Ouch, shit stupid bee."

Then within mere moments there was a cry as if someone was strangled, then a heavy thud was heard, just after that Karen somehow managed to switch it back and the Cafe was lightened up once again.

The mature looking man lay dead, his face has become squeezed and contorted, his eyes almost came out of the socket. the cook who were worried due to the commotion lost her senses. Karen could only remark, "What the hell?"

Suddenly Karen cried out., "Hey, You Elf lady, are you trying to flee?" the Elf lady was standing with her back on the door.

"Silly girl. I was just making sure that nobody can escape." The Elf lady looked a bit interested in the matter. Robert cried out, "Somebody call the police." A deafening thunder muted his words.


	4. Chapter 4

As usual the Police came a bit late. After the initial questioning was done the investigating officer started to scratch his head.

"What a convenient coincidence. The breaker trips and the murder happens. It's surely poisoning or at least the Coroner thinks so. But still it could have been done by anyone present here. He was killed by a poisonous little sting on his right forearm."

The IO still went on scratching his head. While the Elf lady was busy looking at the corpse. The coroner was picking up his equipments and the body bag was being readied. Her intense glare made her to appear very focused. Robert was seemingly taken aback by the sudden developments. He didn't want to blow up his cover as a Stock-broker so he didn't utter a word.

Suddenly the Elf lady stated, "His shirt's right elbow, I think there's something over there." She pointed to the cuff of the victim's shirt. The Coroner was interested and after a little investigation he concluded, "Yeah, this is unusual. It's luminous paint."

Karen wasn't idle also, she was already taking a peek on the Laptop charger and then she exclaimed, "Look here officer, someone just short circuited the whole thing by tying a copper wire over both the plug pins."

The IO's attention was immediately attracted by these developments and his intense glare fell on the other two persons accompanying him, "Only one of you, Mr. Garry and Mr. Travis, could have pulled this off. You're his colleagues so you had ample opportunity to put paint on his cuffs and bug his charger. Then when the lights were out you pricked him with a poisoned needle. To be precise the one sitting exactly opposite of him, you Mr. Travis can easily pull off this little stab on his forearm"

The two co-workers were flustered and became angry due to this allegation, "Why should we do it? We were on great terms. And where is the evidence? There's no way that we could have pricked him when it was dark. Look art the width of this table, its almost four feet."

The IO looked a bit defensive, "Everyone search the floor for a needle, there has to be one lying can't just evaporate." he cried out the instruction to emphasise the current situation.

 _"The injury was around the elbow, the table is around four feet wide, so even if he could have pricked the person by using his hand still there's no guarantee that he won't hit something while retracting his hand. And then where did he dispose of the needle? How did the needle pricked the victim if the culprit didn't use his hands? The luminous paint ensures that the culprit prepared for this trick beforehand. But then what was the trick used? Was it some sort of blow pipe?"_ Robert was thinking inwardly, suddenly a small pressure on his shoulders broke his thoughts.

Karen was there with a small and reassuring smile, "I know that you don't like this gory stuff. But fear not, I'm also a first class Detective Otaku-girl. So I'll solve this case in minutes and you would be freed from this appalling condition.

The Elf lady looked at the duo with a knowing smile and then gestured with her left hand, her thumb, index finger and middle finger were outstretched. Each made a Right angle with the other and she promptly muttered "Even the Solenoids can blow."

Suddenly an idea flashed in Robert's brain, Fleming's left hand rule, but when he looked towards Karen he saw that her eyes were beaming. She lifted her face, "Inspector check the Laptop bag of the man sitting beside the victim. You'll find the blowpipe in it."

With-in a fraction of a second the IO ceased his bag and opened it up. A U-shaped medium length pipe came up, the IO looked unimpressed. Karen beamed a flashy smile and continued, "That's not an ordinary pipe, that's a copper solenoid hidden in the pipe, and inspector you would even find a pair of neodymium magnets and a AA size cell in his bag also.

The IO soon found out the things stated exactly by the Mantis girl.

"But how could this have killed him? These are no poisonous pricks." the IO looked a bit defeated.

"Allow me to give you a demo." Karen promptly wore her kitchen gloves, put the neodymium magnets on each end of the battery. Then she placed the whole system into the pipe and within a fraction of a second the thing ejected from the other end of the pipe.

"So he just needed to put a poisonous prick over the front head of the battery system and it would be done quite easily." the IO looked very pleased.

"Where is the proof? BTW Travis and Gilbert, the victim were always on negative terms. Gilbert abused Travis for his lack of prowess on each and every occasion that he had gotten. Travis hated his guts, it's has to be him, he's framing me." Mr. Garry cried out on the top of his lungs.

"No It's you who had done couldn't have put it in your bag, btw the pen that you have is it from Kobayashi Frog Heaven?" Karen asked the man.

"It is. How does it become relevant?" Garry was agitated and directly charged Karen with his question.

"The store manager can verify that whether you pet a poison dart frog or not. Does it still remain irrelevant, Mr. Garry?" Karen asked with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

The Elf lady added on, "Officer search the container of toothpicks on that table, he can only hide the prick amongst those toothpicks. You can find everything you need to implicate him on that prick." Now Karen also looked quizzically to the Elf lady.

The IO didn't waste any second to get his hand on the toothpick container and after a cautious search the prick was found, the IO declared, "Hmm...it'll have all three on it, the luminous paint, the poison of the frog that you pet and the victims blood along with your skin samples."

The man broke down and the formalities were concluded promptly.

Robert asked Karen, "Who is she? She doesn't look normal."

Karen replied, "She is super normal, for sure."

The Elf lady looked at them bemusedly and bowed to the duo, "A bored IT professional with a knack of solving mysteries. I'm Renia, the friendly neighbourhood Elf." The reflection on her right spectacle made her appear to be blind in that eye.

* * *

It had already a quarter past eleven in the night. The rush of returning home from office has already died. People were getting ready for their bedtime, but not these four, Hannah was on her mobile phone, Rebeka was on her tablet, Reina was pushing in the earphone deep into her ear and Karen was pressing the receiver of the lonely nearby phonebooth on her ear.

The all uttered the same phrase simultaneously, "Yes. It went just as you had mentioned. He's too naive, it wouldn't be that tough."

 **(The next Morning)**

"Robert is anything bothering you? Like a suspicious person or someone like that? You look very distressed." Hannah asked with a bit of concern in her voice.

"Nah...I'm fine, just family trouble. Nothing professional at all." Robert replied, _"How did you know that someone's after me? Do you really take me as a dunderhead, chief?"_ Robert snarled in his mind.

"I see, btw did you read about the case that had happened in that Sea-food restaurant last night?" Hannah asked Robert.

"No Ma'm, I didn't have time to go through the Morning newspaper." Robert thought that it was better not to divulge anything to this suspicious Jinko.

"It says that the waitress helped to solve the case, Karen is her name, do you know anything about her as you once mentioned that you like the seafood and that's the only restaurant in the neighbourhood which sells Sea-food?" Hannah wasn't an easy interrogator.

"Not really Ma'm. I don't know the name of the waitresses." Robert replied.

"Oh, I see. Btw her photograph says that she's a Mantis. She looks like a smart girl and probably a pirate-otaku, why don't you take a look?" Hannah tossed the paper towards Robert, there was nothing unusual about the picture of Karen, but her uniform sported her nametag.

Though Robert was looking at the paper, he felt a cold snake slithering up his spine, the same death glare is being sent towards his direction by the chief, he sensed it even without lifting his head. This sensation prevailed for some more seconds,after the peon came in and Hannah excused Robert, thus giving a bit of relief to the latter.

Suddenly an idea appeared in his mind, _"Why don't I call up Manako and ask her to dig out about this Hannah? She is becoming more and more devious with each passing day. Maybe I also need to up my ante."_

 **(The Evening)**

"Robert, I'm looking for nice condo in an apartment. I heard that the apartment in which you live is quite good. I want to check out the availability of a condo. Can you please take me there ?" Hannah request her subordinate .

Robert again felt a pressure built up in his body, he felt a sudden flutter in his tummy. _"Shit, now she wants to put me under watch 24X7. She has to be the one, Doppel I need you, Manako please hurry up."_

"Are you ok, your face looks eerily bloodless?" Hannah leaned over the shorter man.

"No, no it's fine. I'm just a bit under the weather." somehow Robert blurted out something.

The drive back home was uneventful, Robert invited the chief to have a cup of tea with him but the chief politely declined. But the real incident happened after Robert showed chief the way to the apartment manager's office. The chief promptly excused him and was going to take a step toward the office, suddenly a familiar face appeared in front of Robert.

"Oh, so you live here, Mr. Stockbroker. It's true when they say that the world is really small." Karen greeted the dumbfounded detective.

"You? Here?" somehow Robert blurted out.

Hannah didn't appear to be interested in the chitchat and was promptly striding towards the Office of the apartment manager.

"You see, Mr. Stockbroker, I was here for a delivery, some Ms. Watts or something. Though I must say despite being a Hellhound she's a generous tipper." Karen waved and took her leave.

Robert almost sprinted towards the elevator, no sooner he promptly pressed the button than he had felt a grinding fear encompassing his psyche. He didn't muster the courage to even turn back. He just jumped into the elevator, but from the space between the closing elevator doors he saw the empty hallway only. Suddenly the elevator was stopped and a lithe hand entered and then the whole torso.

"Hi, we meet again, which floor do you want to get on?" reina, the Elf lady of yesterday was gesturing the buttons.

"Four, please." Robert blurted, he somehow felt almost lifeless.

* * *

 **Reina: An Elf(for further info. refer Monster Girl Encyclopedia)**

 **Bust : C cup**

 **Height : 5'-10"**


	5. Chapter 5

Robert was quite tired after the ordeal, but he didn't have any slack. He was scheduled to attend the little meeting with Doppel, so he purposively didn't give any attention to the Elf lady Reina. He almost rushed out of the lift and said, "See you soon, Ms. Reina."

He didn't even wait for the her repeat gesture. He rushed to his apartment and opened it up, only to find a rolled in paper slip on the floor, it read "Not now"

He instantly knew that it was Doppel and something urgent had come up so Doppel was forced to do it. There's no CCTV on the floors, so Doppel sneaking something through his door won't even be recorded. _"Probably she doesn't want to use her mobile anymore. Good for her, it'll only strengthen her disguise. Still what is this 'Heat now?' Doppel is very rational, then it has to be a code."_ Robert reasoned.

His phoned beeped to indicate the receiving of a message, it wasn't from Doppel but from Manako.

"I have news, her story is too big to tell online. Can we meet somewhere privately?" the message read.

Robert instantly texted, "I'm ok with it, care to suggest a place?"

The reply came within a minute, "How about Cafe-Dragon? I'll text you the location."

"Fine by me." Robert texted back.

"Can you come within half an hour?" Manako texted back with the address.

"No problem." Robert reverted back. The address wasn't that far from his apartment and the discussion takes precedence over everything else. Robert literally stormed out of his apartment with renewed vigour, but he failed to notice that his neighbour Rebeka looked at him through the ajar door.

On the way Robert noticed that the Apartment manager's room was dark, _"Looks like Chief has already left, good for me, I guess."_ He stepped into his car and drove towards his destination.

Cafe Dragon was a popular Maid-cafe in the neighbourhood. Mentally Robert had to commend Manako's foresight, a Maid-cafe is more or less a secure place to share secrets and more so if the said cafe is run by a bunch of Dragons.

The interior decoration of the cafe was splendid, the dimmed light and the classical music made the air quite romantic. Robert could see that mostly couples were the patrons and they're very quite and self indulgent. Robert breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly a red eyed Humanoid Dragon girl in maid uniform welcomed him. "Welcome, master. I'm Tohru, Madam Manako has already instructed me to usher you to table no. 2. Please follow me."

Following the polite Dragon Robert arrived at table no. 2. Manako was already seated there and drinking a little water from the wine glass.

Robert took a seat beside her and Tohru took out her order book, "Would you like to place your order, Ma'm?" she asked Manako.

"I would like to full Chinese dinner special. Is that fine with you Robert?" Manako asked him with an all-knowing smile.

"I'll surely like that." Robert replied, the waitress noted down the orders and took her leave.

"You still remember my favourite dish. Surely you're yet to get over of me." Robert stated with a tinge of sorrow in his voice.

Manako replied, with a deep sigh, "Those two years were the best of my life. You're the first one whom I trusted when I came as an exchange student. How can I forget my first real love?" a big drop of tear rolled down from her eye.

Manako cleared her eye, put one drop of the customary eye hydrating lotion in her eye, waited a bit and then said, "The news is not looking too bright for you, that woman was involved in some serious matter."

"Chief Hannah?" Robert asked.

"Yes, I've already got a brief overview of her service life and it doesn't look good to me. There are rumours about her floating around the HQ." Manako replied.

"Rumours?" Robert was a bit astonished.

"Yes, but let me first give you a little detail about her Service life. Chief Hannah joined the Investigation Bureau almost six years ago. Soon she got posted into the infiltration unit with three fellow agents. She had three partners, a human and three Liminals. The Human was a male, everyone else were female.  
The mission was going on fine. They had two infiltrators tipping them off about a Liminal trafficking cartel. But then something happened One of the infiltrators went missing and the other's cover blew up. Then when Hannah and her partner Kazan Kimovic were chasing a trafficker Kazan was killed and Hannah met with an accident putting her in Coma and taking out her right eye.  
But the rumours about her were quite unforgiving, they generally blame her being the double agent of the cartel who kiled one infiltrator and blew up the other's cover. During the chase she purposively got hurt and let her partner die." Manako was stopped by Robert.

"But then she was in a Coma, she can't feign that possibly, can she?" Robert refused to believe this particular piece of the rumour.

"Well, they say that her colleagues from the Cartel wanted to get rid of her, but failed to kill her, but being in coma is as good as being dead. Even after waking up she seems to remember everything else other than the incident, which makes a good amount of the top brass, suspicious of her. They say she probably had cut a deal with her erstwhile accomplices, even her current posting wasn't a smooth affair. It seems someone from the Home ministry pulled some strings to get her become your boss." Manako stopped to catch a breath.

"I see, it's more intriguing than its appearance. By the way do you have any info on the other two Liminal agents?" Robert asked the Monoeye agent.

"Not really, I tried my best to pull up anything regarding them, but it seems that their files were deleted. Probably somebody from the upper echelon had his or her hand in that. There's probably a cover up after that incident." Manako replied sombrely.

"Thank you for your patience, Here's your order, please enjoy." Tohru brought the order and placed it in front of the duo.

Both the Human and the Monoeye were very hungry so they didn't wait anymore to dig in.

"Robert, please be careful. This person is nothing but trouble, keep your distance from her and take care, by the way how's Doppel doing? Haven't heard from her for a while?" Manako was also Doppel's classmate during the training period.

"Well she's out of the country. Some problem popped up in her family that's why she's on a leave." Robert replied, it was not like he distrusted Manako but orders are orders.

"Hmm...I see. But if I'm not mistaken then her parents are already dead. I guess something in her extended family must have happened." Manako reasoned.

"Probably, she never mentioned anything about the trouble though." Robert played his part aptly.

"Excuse me, here's the bill." Tohru put down the plate on which some eclairs and the bill were placed.

Manako and Robert split the bill between them. Before leaving Manako held Robert's hand in her both palms, "Please be careful, I know might not be in a position to say this, but if something happens to you I won't be able to forgive myself. If you need any help please feel free to ask me." Manako was already tearing up.

Robert hugged her lightly with his free hand, "I'll and don't say that Manny. I still love you, maybe we are no more a couple but I still love you very much and I'll never let you down. Nothing will happen." Robert reassured his old love.

 _"They tipped me so handsomely, I pray to the dark god that their love becomes immortal."_ Tohru was looking at the couple and rooting for them to reunite, she didn't like tragic romances, more so in real life.

Manako and Robert bade goodnight to each other and went to their separate ways, the taste of the Eclairs still lingered in his mouth much like the touch of Manako in his hand. he relished both immensely, suddenly a thought came into his mind, "Caramel, carbon, heat. Shit." He rushed towards his home.

On arriving he took out the note which was supposedly left by Doppel, he turned on his high power lamp and held the piece of paper closed to it, it was indeed a message from Doppel,

 **"It's deeper than anticipated. The drug dealers whom you've caught were going to become in the witness of prosecution in the Bunny Brothel and Trafficking case. Someone in the top brass covered it up and the case is dropped as of now. There's something bigger going on, that assassin is said to be a double agent. She is maybe an insider or something of our department. Don't worry I'm nearby, just be calm and remain collected and stay on your guard."**

Robert was panting desperately, it's all coming to him now. _"It has to be her, she's getting a condo in my apartment, she has already gotten a contact in the Home Ministry. I'll have to be on my guard and gather as much proof against her as possible."_

 **Robert opened the bathroom closet and took out the bottle of sleeping pills, he knew that he needed at least one for the night.**

Robert woke up with a loud knock on his door. He looked at the clock, it was already 7 in the Morning. He looked through the peep hole, to his astonishment Rebeka was standing there. He opened the door, Rebeka replied "Good Morning, Rob. Sorry to wake you up this early but somebody slipped a letter addressed to you in my condo. It even has your name and a postmark."

Robert took the envelope from her hand, it was addressed to him, but the flat number was illegibly written, probably that had been the cause of the mix up.

Robert thanked Rebeka, she replied, "You're just too kind. I didn't perform a phenomenal deed, I just performed the duty of any civilized neighbour, so no need to thank me like that. But there's something bad that I've noticed in this apartment. I got the smell of that Jinko from the Museum fiasco. Beware of her, Robert. She's a maneater." Rebeka left a bewildered Robert.

 _"There's some serious bad-blood flowing amongst them. Chief Hanna and Rebeka appear to be bitter rivals and probably they don't trust each other. Wait a second, that means Rebeka is probably one of the two infiltrators of Hannah's erstwhile team. But it's still a speculation and I need further proof to ascertain it. I'll have to investigate Rebeka, I'll bring up the vague recollections of that case and observe her reactions. But first I'll check up this letter."_

Robert tore open the envelope, a printed letter came out of it,

 **Dear Robert Hayek, or I should rather suggest agent Hayek. Your life is in danger. People who're close to you will backstab. Don't trust anyone, I'm the agent assigned to watch over you by our Research and Intelligence wing. Don't trust anyone with a dysfunctional right eye, your partner has already sold herself. Don't believe her.**


	6. Chapter 6

Rebeka was promptly following the duo with her gaze. As soon as the duo stepped out she instructed the man sitting with her to come close, "Keep an eye on the man, make sure that he reaches his apartment safely." The man instantly rose up and followed the order. Rebeka was slowly sipping her alcohol. The small flutter of tired wings didn't go past her hearing. A Mantis was stretching her wings and muscles. The Mantis girl promptly got up from her seat and went out of the cafe. Her behaviour appeared to be a bit out of context as if she was hurrying to do something mighty important. Rebeka payed her bill and tipped the changes to the little dragon maid.

Rebeka silently followed the Mantis. The Mantis had brought her own car, she promptly rode it and started following Robert's vehicle while the Cyclops was nowhere to be seen. Rebeka pulled out her mobile and texted, "Somebody else is following him. Keep your eyes open, don't give away your location to the pursuer."

Rebeka put down the mobile in her pocket and was immersed in thought, _"It's a good thing that I opened his letter. Somebody surely wanted the poor man to distrust his partner. Who can it be? Well this mysterious person does know that his partner is female. Probably wanted to hide his/her hand writing that's why the letter was typed. So that means the person who sent him the letter already knows about his partner and masked her handwriting. Probably an insider, Hannah how heartless will you get?"_ Suddenly her face showed signs of unbound rage and disgust.

But unbeknownst to her there was a third person lurking in the same bar, she was yet to come out. To be precise she didn't really come out because Rebeka was still there. That person called another waitress. A horned water dragon came to her, she promptly gave her a 10 dollar bill and said, "Hey just go out and see whether the Hellhound has left or not? She's a dangerous one and she'll probably kill me if she sees me. I cheated with her Husband and she's furious about it." Elma didn't bother to question this Elf lady further. She was already drunk , so the request never seemed unnatural to her, but she did take a look outside. The Hellhound had already left. She informed the lady about it.

The Elf lady patted her back and came out, "Huh...what a bother." She stretched her limbs and called for a Taxi.

 **(With Robert)**

 _"If Manako is really getting the accurate information then it really had been a turn coats job. I can seriously discount that agent whose cover got blown. Kazan is already dead so he also can't be the insider. But Hannah and the other infiltrator seem suspicious. Hannah could have been the inside agent who blew up the whole mission. Then the organization tried to her rid of her so they wanted to kill her. Still there is another loose end here, what did happen to the other infiltrator? Even if she killed why didn't nobody got any news of that. Manako mentioned that she went missing, what if she was the original double agent who blew up her fellow's cover and made sure that the organization does away with Hannah and Koman?  
There are other issues also, why Doppel insists that the drug cartel that we had apprehended were going to become approvers in the more sensitive underage liminal sex trade scam. But somebody got them arrested for a different crime and the main sensitive case is being covered up by a to honcho in the meantime.  
Also this stupid letter trying to make me disapprove Doppel, but if someone from that Organization has already figured out that Doppel is my partner and Doppel would probably notice this anomaly and inform me. So they wanted to sever this bond of trust between us. Makes sense, if Doppel would really have been a turn-coat she wouldn't have informed me about this insight. This letter really confirms that Doppel is my ally.  
Wait a second, only the Bureau chief, I and Doppel know about this mission, then who leaked the information about Doppel. What Doppel is up to is not an accessible info. for the outsider. Shit why didn't I realise this sooner?"_

Robert reached for his cellphone and redialled Manako's number, "Sorry to bother you Manny, but who was the chief supervisor of the failed infiltration mission back then?"

...

"Thanks a lot." Robert took a sigh of relief. "Now it's all clear like daylight. That's why the assassin was sent. It was to silence me and make sure no such infiltrating mission existed in the first place. Probably I think only trust Manako, I know Doppel isn't involved but..."

 **(With Karen)**

 _"What the fool is up to? I really have to clear the air or else it might be too late. That Jinko or the Hellhound seem to be more cunning than I had thought. The Hellhound especially. The way in which she was sneaking in on Robert and then on me was marvellous. But she can't fool me, though her partner is still on my ass, I see. Still I think Robert is her priority, guess what I'll pull out of this and tail him instead."_

With a swift left turn Karen's car the second lane while Rebeka's accomplice still tailed Robert's car without being suspicious.

 **( Smith's tale)**

Smith never thought to get a call at this hour of the day. This was an unknown number, Smith even thought of ignoring it, but something forced her to take the call.

"Hello, Who is this?" she promptly asked.

...

"It's you! Such a pleasant surprise." she replied.

...

"What Robert is in danger? You want to have a talk with Manako?" She looked a bit surprised.

...

"You think so, yeah that woman was suspicious all along. The way you were compromised back then and Kazan even lost his life, it's fair to suspect her." Smith looked firm.

...

"It's more than that? You've already come to my apartment. Ok I'll see you, just wait a second." Smith peeked out of her window to see the familiar person standing on the opposite sidewalk.

 **(Hannah's deductions)**

Chief Hannah was really engrossed in an old file. She was lying on her abs over her bed and the file lay open. It was about the mysterious disappearance of an intelligence agent.

"She was in the same team with me but we never get to see her face. All we ever knew was that she was a Liminal. Her disappearance was also mysterious. To even think that such an old case will become this much important was beyond my comprehension. I'm pretty sure that the current case is somehow related to them. Robert is related but is he a pro or a con?  
Still how can this happen, that agent's cover didn't blow up like Rohanda's. She just disappeared, then again, the only person who saw her face was Kazan. Kazan was mysteriously killed in that chase. I knew that the culprit whom we were chasing didn't have an Uzi. He had just one of those cheap Chinese models. It wasn't an Uzi, but when Robert was discovered it was found that he was shot at by the culprit from Uzi and the culprit himself got killed by bullets fired by Kazan himself.  
I was also astonished to found that the and then supervisor of our mission aborted the whole investigation of Kazan's death, he even went on to eliminate all the files concerning the two infiltrators. Rohanda's case I can understand. Her cover blew up but the other one ? Guess what he's now the Bureau Chief. It's perfectly fine if the Home ministry finds him to be dealing in some shady business. I'm pretty much sure that he has some hand in the disappearance of the second infiltrator and Kazan's death.

Oh, I see these are the photos of Kazan's body. He was shot at his heart but didn't die instantly and his right hand was found clutching something in his purse. Wait was it a dying message? But what could be he grabbing during his last breath. If it was really an encounter like the official report then the Uzi wouldn't have been there and the dying message won't even make sense."

Suddenly Hannah's left eye brightened up, she flipped through the belongings of the Kazan's purse something attracted her attention. "So that's how it was done, hmm...I 'll catch her for one and for all, this time I won't fail, Kazan." a small tear escaped her eye.

 **(The Elf's tale)**

The Elf lady was very busy with her phone. She was busy texting, she didn't even bother to look at the passing imagery. The taxi was running at a high speed, the traffic was quite light, the engine sound almost overshadowed the incessant tapping sounds generated from her texting.

 **(Karen)**

 _"Hmm...it's more than it meets the. There was another one in that Cafe too. An Elf lady, the same one who helped me to catch the murderer and then requested to get her name off the case. Why was she there in the first place? She didn't seem to be interested in her food. She was looking intensely towards Robert and the other girl. Is she another observer or the assassin herself? The Hellhould is less likely to be the assassin, that man who was her partner wasn't from the Organization. I was able to see the satellite phone in his car. She's one from the observing agencies, but what if she is really a double agent? I just can't write her off."_

Karen was driving towards her apartment.

 **(Manako's condo)**

A sudden knock on the door broke Manako's trance like state. "It's already Nine, who has come this late?" Manako strode towards the door and looked through the peekhole. It was Ms. Smith, there was another person but she neither her face nor her body was visible.

Manako opened the door to usher in her guests, Ms. Smith came in and she was accompanied by a Hellhound.

"Manako meet Ms. Rohanda Walter, the investigating agent from Research and Intelligence wing and my old chum." Smith introduced the Hellhound who was otherwise known as Rebeka.

"Ms. Manako, I need your help. a dangerous person is behind Mr. Robert Hayek and his life is in danger." Rohanda announced gravely.

"I need to know about the topic of your conversation. I know he was the one who asked you to get some info, because I was there in the cafe and I overheard the introductory lines. Now tell me please, only then I can save him from the danger." Rohanda replied.

Manako was gestured by Smith to tell the full incident in detail. Manako trusted Smith so she obliged, she was more worried about Robert's well being.

"I have sent my partner to watch over his well being. So you don't need to be worried for now." Rohanda aka Rebeka replied.

Manako told her about the whole story concerning chief Hannah and the failed mission. Manako observed that Rohanda got agitated at the part when Hannah was mentioned. She looked a bit sad when Manako touched on the murder of Kazan.

Smith put a consoling pat on her back, "Don't worry time nothing of such sorts will happen, we are already on our guard and she won't be able to get away this time."

 **(Hannah's story)**

"Hello, is this Miranda?" Hannah asked the person on the other end of the phone.

...

"Yeah, it's been almost six months since I talked with you, sorry. You know work and shifting tied me down."

...

"Ha, I'll. But I need to ask you something, You're still in the Integration Bureau, I guess?"

...

"Can you give me a certain piece of information, like since inception of the Cultural Exchange Bill, exactly how many Elves have come here and their personal infos.?"

...

"I know, but something very sinister is being plotted and an Elf might be the eye of this needle."

...

"Thanks, I see. The number seems a bit lower."

...

"Yes, yes. lesser work for me, then. Thanks, btw I'll take you out on a beer date once everything is done and dusted."

Hannah opened up her E-mail account, a new mail has already arrived. Hannah open the mail, the file contained information of all the Elven immigrants living in this country.

"Hmm...I see. Only one of them is tagged as missing. She enrolled in the Police and mysteriously gone missing, shit this time is around the same time when our mission commenced." Hannah was panting heavily.

 **(Robert's Condo)**

 _"There were at least two people spying on us in the cafe. One was the Mantis, I got a glimpse of her and the other was probably the Hellhound, only a Hellhound will do that sort of sniffing in the public. Still they were up my tail and both were following me in their cars respectively, one pulled away but the other followed me till I reached my flat. I see that Rebeka's flat is still locked. That means Rebeka has an accomplice and the Mantis is acting on her own. But I can't consider them as bad guys, if they were bad they won't be monitoring me such a conspicuous manner. I think both of them were monitoring me but gave a damn about whether I can see through their act or not. This means monitoring me was their objective, tailing me without rising suspicion wasn't. This means they are observers not assassins. But why did they need to observe me?  
Am I in any danger? Yes I'm a danger to the higher-ups, who are trying to cover up the illegal minor sex racket, because I'm getting too close to the truth. Probably one of the infiltrators, the one who went missing was the double agent. She messed the whole operation, blew up the cover of her colleague and foiled the mission. Then goes missing, is she the one coming after my life?"_

Suddenly the bell rang, indicating the arrival of a visitor, Robert went ahead and looked through the peekhole, it was the Elf lady of the previous day. She was carrying an Umbrella which Robert found odd as the sky was quite clear. He opened the door cautiously.

"Hello, I'm Renia. I found the Umbrella which you had lost back at the cafe. So please..." the Elf lady handed him the umbrella. Robert didn't feel anything strange as the he really had lost the umbrella and was quite glad to see it again. The commotion back then was the main cause for the loss of his umbrella.

Suddenly a very aromatic smell filled in Robert's nostrils. He felt very sleepy, his feet started somehow remembered that he was on his back, lying and Renia was bending over him. She removed her glasses, Robert saw her right eye was too flashy to be a organic eye.


End file.
